so i love cadillacs but im much more familiar with early motors and sbcs than the 472 500. So my 500 motor was running and during it jumped time. I started to tear into it and found that the gear off the cam and the distributor gear got hot enough to discolor the steel and knife edge one another. There didnt seem to be much oil them. The engine is a 500 out of a 73 eldo with about 80 thou. It ran fine before and after i changed the timing set and timing cover gaskets. I do have a remote mount dual oil filter kit that is mounted on the firewall above the engine and i have a 425 oil pan on it. I did have six quarts of 10 30 in it when i ran it so i know i had enough oil. I have heard a few others talk about this being a problem with them but marty at MTS in california had never heard of this problem. My best guess is that perhaps the distrubutor might have seized enough to gum **** up or the recess in the no 1 main cap that is supposed to throw oil on the timing chain was plugged and perhaps that is the cause of the lack of oil present on the gears? ANy ideas?
I ve seen one big Caddy go south because the remote oil filter had the inlet and output oil pipes switched. It seemed the pump was fighting against the anti-drainback valve. That one ruined a crank. I've seen another one (mine) go because of extra high oil temperatures due to a tight engine compartment. After that I added a pre-oiler, better air flow, and oil cooler. I've been running it everywhere, and towing long distances for almost 20 years without any trouble after that. Oil pumps wearing out early was a fairly common Cad problem. They used to be a common replacement item. If yours has an aluminum housing, you may want to get a new one with a cast iron housing. Those seem to last longer. Make sure your oil pickup is very near the bottom of the oil puddle in the pan. If your pickup is higher, it can pick up oil froth before the air settles out. If you have a noisy lifter that will some times come and go, it can be due to frothy oil putting bits of air into a lifter making it partly collapse and then recover. Make sure you are picking up oil from the bottom after the oil settles into a good air-less liquid. Install an oil temperature gauge in the pan- I used a $17 Wal Mart water temp gauge in mine, and keep an eye on oil temps. That will tell you if you need to rest the car before another engine failure happens.
I donknow but if you post this question over at www.cadillacpower.com you might find someone thats run into this before.
ya so dare would my oil pressure have been good if i had the pipes switched? I know for a fact my oil pick up i was very close to the bottom of the pan i had to bend it up a touch to get the pan to go on. Its a 425 oil pan and pick up. I needed the shallower rear sump pan to get the gound clearance for the suspension to lay frame when aired out. I was also wondering if anyone has ever heard of the recess in the no 1 main cap plugging up? therefor the oil wouldnt get squirted on the timing chain and slung up to the top end to lubricate the cam and distributor gear.?
May I suggest the following two forums for those with questions relating to Cadillac 425 / 472 / 500 family engines .. www.cadillacpower.com/forum www.Caddy500.com There is a section in each of these forums devoted to the earlier Cadillac engines back to 1949. Nothing on the 4.1, 4.5, or Northstar.
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